DOJ To Sue North Carolina Over Voter ID Law, Voting Restrictions

[Tx4obama]

DOJ To Sue North Carolina Over Voter ID Law, Voting Restrictions

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration will sue the state of North Carolina on Monday in an effort to block an array of voting restrictions passed by Republican officials this year, a source briefed on the Justice Department's plans told The Huffington Post.

The lawsuit, which will be filed on Monday and announced at a press conference featuring Attorney General Eric Holder, challenges four provisions of the voting law, known as House Bill 589 and signed by North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) last month. Voter advocates have criticized the law as one of the most restrictive voting measures passed since the civil rights era.

In addition to challenging the law's strict photo ID provisions, the lawsuit will seek to stop North Carolina from eliminating seven days of early voting, nixing same-day voter registration during the early voting period and prohibiting the counting of provisional ballots that are cast in the right county but the wrong precinct.

DOJ will also ask a federal judge to force the state to seek permission from the Justice Department or in federal court to make changes to its voting laws and procedures, using the bail-in process under Section 3 of the Voting Rights Act. North Carolina had been required to have changes to its voting laws pre-cleared under a separate section of the Voting Rights Act until a Supreme Court decision in June.

-snip-

Full article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/30/north-carolina-voter-id-doj-lawsuit_n_4013976.html

Go get 'em Mr. Holder

[blkmusclmachine]

1. So, the DOJ got tired of busting patients w/medical marijuana?!!

[JoePhilly]

4. Sure, cause that's all they do.

[Sunlei]

2. good. I wish many more of these injustices towards 'the people' went to the DOJ

[mnhtnbb]

3. Hooray!

Fuck McCookie and his band of Popian Teapublicans.

[Gothmog]

5. This is Great News. BTW, there are some interesting differences between Texas and NC laws

I know a great deal about the Texas voter id law and remember that some posters from North Carolina were upset that the DOJ filed against Texas first. After reading the petition, I can see why Texas was first. You can read the petition here http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/dojnclawsuit.pdf I have read the section dealing with voter ID and found that the North Carolina law as described in the DOJ petition is actually more liberal than the Texas voter id law (SB 14) in a number of key aspects. For example, the North Carolina law allows Veteran’s cards and indian tribe identifications to be used:

………(5) a Veteran’s identification card issued by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs; (6) a tribal enrollment card issued by a federally- or State-recognized tribe;

The Texas voter ID law does not allow for these forms of identification but does provided that conceal carry permits are acceptable.

Next, the North Carolina law exempts persons over 70 from having identifications that is current on the voter’s 70th birthday:

Voters who are 70 years of age and older are exempted from the requirement that the photo identification be unexpired; however, the photo identification they present must have been unexpired on the voter’s 70th birthday.

In Texas, the free id, i.e., the Election Identification Certificate, issued to a voter who is 70 years or older does not expire while EICs issued to other voters do expire.

Third, voters with disabilities are treated differently. In North Carolina is a voter qualifies for curbside assistance, then that voter can present forms of identification that are acceptable under the Help America Vote Act which includes ultility bills and other correspondence:

(3) registered voters who qualify to cast a ballot curbside because of age or physical disability. The voters in at least the last category must show one of the forms of identification approved by the HAVA for first-time voters who register by mail

In, Texas only voters who are more than 50% disabled according to the Social Security Administration or the Veteran’s Administration and who submit paper documenting such disability to the county voter registrar can meet the disability exemption.

Finally, under the North Carolina law, the counties are required to provide free birth certificates to any voter who requests a birth certificate in order to get the free identification from the state:

Further, although HB 589 requires a North Carolina register of deeds to issue without charge a certified copy of a birth certificate or marriage license to any registered voter who declares that he or she needs the document to obtain a photo identification in order to vote, it does not address any fees that will be imposed on voters who will have to obtain the requisite underlying documentation from out-of-state agencies.

In Texas there is no provision for free birth certificates.

The North Carolina law is actually a more liberal law compared to the Texas law and the DOJ still sued. To me, this means that Texas may have a harder time justifying SB14 given that the Texas voter id law is far stricter than the North Carolina law in many respects. The fact that the DOJ has a court ruling that the Texas act adversely affects the voting rights of minorities combined with the fact that the Texas voter id law is a much stricter law explains why the DOJ filed suit in Texas first.

[gopiscrap]

6. good